Not exactly a group to daydream over, but Jones insists the defense is better now than the one that limped to the finished line last December.

"I can say it this year, we are better right now," Jones said. "And I think better on the field. We're certainly better on paper than we were at the end of the season last year. Not on paper at the beginning of the season last year, but on paper right now relative to how we ended up last year."